[Pooka]

Originally posted by Loser:
It looks like this is going to be a thread to remember. The 'big secret' dirty fighting tricks may not be coming out, but a lot of 'lesser' tricks sure are.

If you have the time, and you are not focusing on destroying that WP fleet of his, here is something to try.

I currently lack the ability to press the offense though ghetto-cloaking a shipyard ship and running it into the storm is a /very/ appealing option. I'll steal his star charts tonight.

First establish, by scouting trips, intel, or whatever, if any system of his has a storm that disables sensors (not combat sensors). Then send in a construction ship and build a construction base in that sector or system. After you build the base, scrap or mothball the ship immediately so that it consumes no more resources.

What level of sensors will a sensor-blocking storm prevent him from scanning? Does it stack with stealth armor? (I.E. Can I make a stealthed drydock?)

If this ghetto-cloaked construction base is in the same system as some of your enemies' worlds (a one-sector storm, as opposed to a system-wide storm), build a cargo-&-fighter-bay base and fill it with fighters and troops. Build these fighters for planetary attack. Build minor little troop transports and go start taking his most undefended planets, attacking with the fighters and dropping the troops. He will probably be unable, or at least find it difficult, to retake the planets and may glass them. This is not a loss for you, it is an intentional strategy of demoralization. If he does glass his own world, point this out to your role-playing friends, and point it out before you start using plagues.

This plan, while very complex and requiring a lot of finesse... appeals to me on levels I cannot express. I doubt he'd even think to check in the storm.
If the base is in a system-wide storm, or if you run out of targets in the system it is in, build harassment ships or fleets and go after similarly soft targets. Your main goal here is simply to harass. This will cause him to spend research time on sensor rather than weapons, and then it will pull warships away from his fronts.

Alternately, with domestic or imported harriers, you can attack targets of strategic value. If you can figure out which world have his Resupply Depots, hit those. This will severely limit the mobility of his troops. Mine the warp points within his sphere of control. Glass big worlds with high pop. Blockade his homeworld, glass it, or plague the damn thing.
The problem with resupply depots is that everyone has Stellar Harnessing 3 by now. Hell, I don't even build resupply depots anymore, I just have dedicated supply ships in all my fleets. I can handle constant fighting on the run for about .7 years before supplies force me to stop moving.

On plagues... if you need to wax this guy to survive, what does it matter what other players think. If you die because you don't plague him, or die because you plague him, wax him, and the others pound you, what difference does it make. Just make sure you are ready to move decisively after your plague attack: take his worlds, his resources, his power, and be ready to faces his new friends with their righteous anger.

One more thing, if you can get an AS harrier behind his lines, use it on non-combat ships as well as warships. Stealing the guys population transport could be lots of fun, especially if he blats it out of the sky when he can't get it back (see righteous role players).[/quote]
Yeah, I've been trying to think up a proper smear campain to launch on this guy. I run an "In-Character" newsletter with my own 'fair and balanced' journalism. So far they're biting nice and hard. I'll see if I can't make this work. Really, the minefields will be the problem point as getting a buildership past his fleet/minefield is the problem.

Once I get a single ship through... it's party time.